Viral TikTok leads to 40 dogs rescued from central Ohio house; Humane Society asks for help

A central Ohio woman posted to TikTok asking for help after witnessing dozens of dogs living in grotesque, inhumane conditions. Before you get too upset (like I did), there’s a happy ending here!

“Law and animal control has been called and multiple reports have been made by different people. The dog warden just brushes it off and when my fiance went to the Sheriff, he laughed in his face like it was a joke,” the video description says. The video then zooms in on a sad dog chained to the ground, pulling and biting at his neck chain, trying to escape the pit of water surrounding him. 

The video shows about 40 dogs all chained up, with the only shelter provided being a blue plastic tub with a whole cut out out of it. Almost every single tub is in a deep pool of water filled with algae and mud.

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Hundreds of calls to the police department later, all of the dogs were finally seized from the property located on the 7000 block of Kilbourne Road in Delaware County. The County released a statement that the owner of the property was not home at the time of the seizure. 

Online court records show the property owner was charged with animal cruelty in North Carolina in 2012. Mitchell Garrett, Delaware County Dog Warden, said they have been aware of the property owner for several years. “Complaints continued to come in…but, in recent years, no one would complete a witness statement that would enable the Dog Shelter staff to act,” the County’s statement said. “A statement was received Friday night, alleging many more dogs on the property than were previously known and that they had been observed in abusive conditions.”

And now for the good(ish) news! Some of the pets are being cared for by Rico Pet Recovery, a local nonprofit organization, who’s collecting donations as well. The dogs are safe and sound at the Humane Society of Delaware County. Veterinarians are looking over them, providing them with proper healthcare, medications, and vaccines. 

It may be some time before the dogs are put up for adoption or fostering due to the ongoing litigation. They’re considered evidence of a criminal investigation.

But you can still help! The Humane Society of Delaware County has very specific ways that you can help these dogs get the care they need and deserve. “We are a non-profit organization that relies on community help to care for our shelter animals and our biggest need is for donations to help cover the costs of the 13 dogs we are currently housing and caring for. If you are unable to donate, we are also in need of some items that can be purchased on Amazon and shipped directly to our shelter. Thank you so much for the support!”

Here are some ways you can help right now, according to the Humane Society of Delaware County’s Facebook:

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